Recent graduate Regina wrote to us at advice@workopolis.com to ask if taking service industry jobs to earn money will hurt her chances of getting a job in her field.

Among the skills that Canadian CEOs recently said they are most looking to hire for are people skills/relationship-building, communication skills, problem solving skills. All of those are abilities that you can develop and demonstrate in service jobs – and that are transferable across industries.

Your first jobs, whatever they are, are your first opportunities to demonstrate that you have a positive work ethic, that you’re reliable, a good team player, and that you can learn fast and think on your feet. All of these are the corner stones of your professional reputation. They look good on a resume and are in demand on the job market.

The Workopolis team shares more details in their answer to Regina’s question in the video below. Please send your career questions and dilemmas to us here at advice@workopolis.com.